22 North Front Street, Suite 500
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
901.527.4625 P
901.527.4631 F

A mentor is a caring adult friend who devotes time to a young person. Mentors can fill any number of different roles. Yet all mentors have one thing in common: they care about helping young people achieve their potential and discover their strengths.

• One-on-one mentoring: Traditional mentoring consisting of one adult to one young person.
• Group mentoring: One adult commits to meet regularly with up to four young people in an interactive session which usually encourages personal sharing. Activities may be determined by the sponsoring program or be left up to the group mentor.
• Team mentoring: Several adults working with small groups of young people, in which the adult to youth ratio is not greater than 1:4.
• Peer mentoring: Caring youth mentoring other, typically younger individuals. Usually, mentoring activities are education-based and occur frequently over the course of a semester or school year.
• E-mentoring: Mentoring via e-mail and the Internet at least once a week for a period of six months to a year. Face-to-face meetings may occur as well. The mentor often serves as an advisor for school and/or career-related matters.

• Personal growth and development: Mentor and mentee connect through activities of mutual interest such as visits to cultural sites, trips to movies or shows, sports or other activities.
• Education: Mentor and mentee work on school-related activities ranging from homework, literacy-building, SAT preparation and college and financial aid applications or alternatives to college. Usually occurring at the site of the host organization, these programs tend to follow the school year.
• Civics: Community-service-oriented activities aimed at developing a sense of responsibility for one’s community as well as compassion and pride.
• Recreation (sport or other): Participation in groups and teams creates an atmosphere for learning social skills such as cooperation, communication, and leadership.
• Career development: Mentors and mentees research and explore different career paths and professions. Gaining experience and networking are important aspects of this method.
• Spiritual growth and development: Mentor and mentee may discuss the significance of faith in their lives, attend religious services, etc. Faith may also be a component of another activity such as a civic or recreation program.

Mentoring can take place in a wide array of settings, such as a workplace, a school, a faith-based organization, a juvenile corrections facility, some other community setting and in the "virtual community," where e-mentoring takes place.

Because relationships and a sense of bonding occur over time, the duration and consistency of a mentoring relationship is very important. At a minimum, mentors and mentees should meet regularly at least four hours per month for at least a year. There are exceptions, such as school-based mentoring, which usually coincides with the school year, and other types of special mentoring initiatives. In such special circumstances, mentees should know from the outset how long the mentoring relationship will last so they can adjust their expectations accordingly.

References

Jean E. Rhodes, Ph.D., Stand by Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today's Youth. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2002.)

How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program using the Elements of Effective Practice™. MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, 2005. http://www.mentoring.org/program_staff/eeptoolkit/index.php, accessed 11/7/05.